Grab bars save lives. We train the people who install them.
The national certification and membership organization setting the standard for professional grab bar installation โ and building the credential homeowners, clinicians, and referrers actually look for.
Why We Exist
A grab bar is only as safe as the person who installs it.
Falls are the leading cause of injury for older adults in the United States. A properly installed grab bar prevents them. A poorly installed one gives a false sense of security โ and when it fails, it fails at the worst possible moment.
No national standard.
Anyone with a drill can call themselves a grab bar installer. Homeowners have no reliable way to tell a trained professional from someone who watched a YouTube video.
Bad installs are common.
Anchors in drywall. Screws that miss studs. Bars placed in the wrong location for the person using them. Every one of these is a fall waiting to happen.
Good installers lumped in with bad.
Professionals who do it right compete on price with handymen who don't know what they don't know. The work looks the same on the invoice. It isn't.
Our Mission
"A grab bar in every home โ installed by someone trained to do it right."
GBIAA exists to make professional grab bar installation a recognized trade, with real training, real credentials, and real accountability. The public benefits when bars hold. Installers benefit when skill is rewarded. We're building both.
Our Work Beyond Training
Building the profession, not just teaching the craft.
Training installers is where GBIAA starts. It's not where the work ends. Professional grab bar installation deserves the same recognition as any trade that affects public safety โ and we're building the infrastructure to make that happen.
A Founding Advisory Council
Leaders in aging-in-place services, occupational therapy, home modification research, and public policy are shaping GBIAA's direction โ from the U.S. and internationally. Not a logo wall. A working group of people who move this field forward.
Evidence-Based Standards
Most installation guidance comes from manufacturer minimums. GBIAA is building standards grounded in real-world outcomes from professionals actively doing the work โ closing the gap between what manuals say and what actually holds in the field.
Industry & Policy Engagement
GBIAA actively connects with aging-in-place networks, home safety organizations, and professional associations to make certified installation the recognized default. Longer term: working with Medicare Advantage plans, insurance carriers, and builders to make professional standards non-optional.
"A grab bar in every home, installed by someone trained to do it right."
That's the destination. The advocacy work is the road.
Who's Behind GBIAA
Three founders. One mission.
GBIAA was founded by three partners with complementary expertise โ technical expertise, logistics, and advocacy.
Emilio Baires
Co-Founder ยท CTOA 20-year industry veteran. Emilio teaches the GBIAA certification course and is the technical authority behind every standard we set. Every member has his direct phone line for field questions.
Liz Lenoski
Co-Founder ยท COOOperations lead. Liz runs the platform, member experience, and the national directory. Her background turning systems into competitive advantages is why GBIAA works as an organization, not just an idea.
Michael Greg Cantori
Co-Founder ยท CEOPartnerships and growth. Greg leads outreach to the organizations that matter for this work โ occupational therapists, aging-in-place specialists, nonprofits, and referral networks โ building the demand that fills member calendars.
What This Means For Your Business
When the bar rises, certified professionals rise with it.
Our mission is safer installs nationwide. The way we achieve it is by making certified installers the obvious choice โ for homeowners, referrers, and the industry.
A credential that means something
Trained by a 20-year professional, tested on real field scenarios. Not a participation certificate โ a working standard.
A directory homeowners actually find
As GBIAA becomes the recognized body, the national directory becomes the first place homeowners and referrers look.
Referrals from the right channels
OTs, aging-in-place specialists, and home-safety networks need people they can trust to send clients to. That's the point of certification.
Direct access to technical expertise
Every member gets Emilio's phone number. Stuck on a weird wall condition in the field? Call.
A reason to charge what the work is worth
When the industry has a standard, skilled installers stop competing with handymen on price and start competing on outcome.
Industry advocacy you benefit from
GBIAA is pushing for professional installation standards nationwide โ from aging-in-place councils to insurance carriers to legislative bodies. Your membership fuels the advocacy that makes the credential matter more every year.
See what membership includes.
Full certification course, directory listing, referrals, marketing assets, and direct technical support โ everything above, built into one annual membership.
View Membership Details